The following lesson plans were designed to cover the "Earth and space sciences" (ACSSU078) science unit of the Australian Curriculum for year 5 students. This unit explores four of the seven general capabilities that the Australian curriculum aims to address during the learning experience, these capabilities include Critical and Creative Thinking, Numeracy,Literacy and Information and Communication Technology. The unit's curriculum content description and elaborations for this learning experience can be further explored on the scootle page.
This learning experience has been designed over a 4 week period, with 2 lessons per week (A total of 8 lesson plans), with each lesson scheduled for approximately a 1- 2 hour time period. During this period of time, students will be introduced to the topic of the "earth and space sciences" and within groups, they will embark on an authentic task to create their own power-point presentations on their group's assigned planet. In this presentation, through research and collaboration the students will address key characteristics about their planet (general features, it's size, the planets distance from Earth and the sun) and also have one slide on their presentation dedicated to the Sun and it's importance to their assigned planet and our planet, Earth! This authentic task, allows students to work independently and within a group to research and understand the planets that make up our solar system and by presenting their knowledge of their research to the entire class through the use of technology, they will make the entire class aware of their planet and the importance of the sun in our solar system!
This learning experience will embrace the use of technologies to support what the students are learning and used a form to display their findings and knowledge throughout the experience. This will include the use of online posters, mind-maps, research and the use of Microsoft Power-point to create their group presentations.
Teachers, It is essential for you to have access to the following two resources, in order to complete this lesson plan: Interactive Whiteboard -In order to visually engage with students and to watch videos (refer lesson 2) with students. Computers - We would suggest a computer/ipad per student or at least a computer per group to allow for students to be able to complete this lesson plan.
Lesson Plan 1- Introduction- What is our solar system?
Key Questions:
*What is the solar system? What do you already know about our solar system?
*What do you want to learn about the solar system?
Lesson Objectives: Students Will:
*Expand on what they currently know about the solar system & record what they would like to learn.
*Learn that the Earth is part of a system of planets orbiting around a star (The sun).
Teacher Tips:
Book computer lab or make sure each student have a laptop/ipad (or at least each group of students have at least 1 device) to undergo the authentic task in this lesson
Touch base with canva and review how to use the online poster- Teacher must be of assistance to students and be able to offer scallfolding to their learning so must know how to use canva.
Authentic Elements:
Authentic Tasks -Students will undergo the authentic task of creating a poster about our solar system
Reflection -Students will be reflecting on what the currently already know about the solar system (through the poster)
Lesson:
Begin lesson by introducing topic (Earth & Space Sciences) then ask Students: What is the solar system? This allows students to pass on their own knowledge of what the solar system is to them and what they currently know. Answer's will vary.
Divide students into 8 groups, assign one laptop per group. To create an authentic learning experience, Explain to students that they will use online poster website Canva, to create a simple poster with 3 points explaining what they already know and 3 points explaining what they would like to find out about the topic, this will be done as an interactive group activity (suggest each student in their group make's a point)!
Teacher may show the below example poster on IW (interactive whiteboard) to assist students in the creation stage of their online poster.
This is an example poster, created by Monique Brown on Canva
Using the IW (Interactive Whiteboard) select a few posters to quickly review what students came up with, so the class as a whole is given the opportunity to see what other students might know, but also for the teacher to understand what it is the students want to learn and how they can incorporate this with the curriculum guidelines.
This lesson allows for a nice easy transition into the new topic and offers a great way to introduce the concept of the solar system to the students. It allows them to think about what they already know and what they may want to further know about the solar system and the world around them!
Lesson Plan 2- Planets of the Solar System
Key Questions:
*How many planets are in our solar systems and what are they?
*What about Pluto?
*What is the role of the sun and why is it important?
Lesson Objectives: Students Will:
*Understand that the solar system is made up of 8 planets (Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune)
*Begin to learn characteristics of each planet (Each planets size and distance from the sun varies).
*Understand that the Sun is a star and come to understand it's role in relation to the 8 planets in our solar system
*Understand that all Planets travel around the sun at different orbits.
Authentic Elements:
Authentic Contexts-Understand the world around them by exploring our solar system and what it consists of!
Multiple perspectives-Through their mini-research projects and discussing their answers with the entire class.
Collaboration-Through group work within the assigned groups.
Lesson:
Start the lesson by organizing kids into their previous lessons groups- Inform them that they will be working in these groups for the remainder of the unit. Teachers provide a laptop/computer per student (this will be required for this lesson and each lesson after in order for students to complete the mini research activity in this lesson and also their own research for their assignments in future classes).
Using the Interactive Whiteboard, run through the posters that the students created last class to refresh their memories of the overall topic and what they listed as what they already knew.
Next, Explain to the students that although they all had some great ideas about what the solar system was. You will explain to them that the solar system is made up of 8 planets which all orbit the biggest star, the Sun! These planets are known as Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune.
The students then will watch the below video from youtube on the interactive whiteboard as an introduction to the 8 planets that make up the solar system, to engage their interest in learning some interesting facts about each planet.
Before playing video hand out lyrics to each student of the song from the video so they can visually see what they are listening to and can use the lyrics as their first step to researching their planet!
Planet Song Lyrics Mercury is the closest planet to the sun
Venus comes next it's the hottest one
Earth comes third the only life that we know
Mars has the largest canyon and volcano
The gassy planet Jupiter, the largest you will find
Saturn has rings around the outside
Uranus is funny ‘cause it spins on its side
Neptune looks blue, the coldest of its kind
Using the above video as an introduction to the planets and sun, further explain and reiterateto the students that a planet is a large space object, which revolves around a star. Eight planets have been discovered in our solar system. Mercury, Venus, Earth, and Mars are the planets closest to the Sun. They are called the inner planets – and are mostly made up of rock. The outer planets are Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune. Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune are large balls of gases with rings around them. All eight planets travel around the Sun in a different orbit. Every planet, except for Earth, was named for an ancient Roman god or goddess. All eight planets orbit the Sun in their own unique way. The sun is a star. It is the biggest thing found in our solar system. All the light and warmth on the planets come from the sun. Our seasons and how we keep time are set based on where we are in our Solar System.
What about Pluto?It is important to give students the history behind Pluto- Although it is no longer considered a planet, its valuable for them to be exposed to its history from the teacher prior to coming across it in their research and becoming confused. Explain to student's that Pluto used to be considered a ninth planet in our solar system- Give them a brief history about Pluto and explain why it is no longer considered a planet (Refer students to NASA information page to review 10 key points about Pluto as students need to understand key points).
Mini- Research Activity
To end the lesson, students will spend approximately 45 minutes completing a mini research project in their assigned groups, this mini research project will assist them in preparing for their assignments. Explain this to the students and explain that next lesson they will begin their actual research assignment.
Students will be given the attached worksheet (taken from Kids Astronomy) -
Within their groups, student's are required to research the worksheet questions and answer each question.
This gives the students an opportunity to understand the planets and the solar system for themselves and also provides a good introduction to their research assignment.
Once all students have completed the worksheet, go over the answers with the students and ask them what infromation they found interesting/difficult to find!
Lesson Plan 3- Group Project
Lesson Objectives: Students Will:
*Understand the group project and what is expected from them for this assignment. *Be provided with the assignment questions they must address in their group power point presentations in regards to their planet.*Be assigned their group's planet*Be given a list of resources that they can use to assist them with their research Authentic Elements:
Authentic Contexts-Understand our solar system and their assigned planets characteristics/importance.
Multiple perspectives-Through research they will be exposed to lots of different perspectives & will need to come to their own conclusions.
Collaboration-By working in their assigned groups.
Scaffolding-Teacher will assist students with their research and provide them with any necessary resources to undergo their assignments successfully.
Lesson:
To begin this lesson, make sure you have booked an ipad/computer (or computer lab) for each student (If not each student, each group must have AT LEAST one computer) give students a verbal description of their group assignments first.
They will be assigned a planet each and will need to research their planet finding out about its key characteristics and answering the key questions in relation to their planet (How big is it? How far away is it from the sun? what affect does the sun have on the planet? How long does it take to orbit the sun? What is it's distance from Earth?).
Explain to students that they will have three lessons including this one to complete their research and put together a power-point presentation using Microsoft Power-Point presentation (Refer to teacher/student resources to assist with resources relating to PowerPoint) on their planet and they will present their presentation to the class during Lesson 6 & Lesson 7.
Next- Assign each group a planet! Remember: There should be 8 groups in the class to compliment the number of planets in our solar system!
Provide students with attached assignment outline, which provides them with the key questions their group needs to research and address in their assignment.
Lesson Plan 4, 5 and 6 - Group Project/Assigned lessons for students to work on assignments.
Authentic Elements:
Authentic Contexts-Understanding our solar system and the roles of all the planets in it as well as the role of the sun.
Multiple perspectives-Through research their assigned planets
Collaboration-Working within their groups to complete their research and power point presentations
Scaffolding-Teacher will provide assistance and any necessary resources to assist students in completing their assignments.
Lesson:
This lesson will be devoted to allowing students to work within their groups to continue to research their assigned planets.
Teacher will act as an aid i(Authentic element- Scaffolding) n assisting groups with any queries they may have but also by keeping students on track and making sure they are answering the key questions (given to students in Lesson 3).
It is important for the teacher to make sure students are working as a GROUP. As a teacher, you really want to emphasize on the importance of collaboration (In relation to authentic element of this learning experience) to help student's work together and learn from others as well as their research to come to an understanding of this particular topic.
Lesson Plan 7- Group Presentations
Lesson Objectives: Students Will:
*Present, as a group their group power point- Highlighting their answers from research to the questions outlined in Lesson 3.
*Watch each other's presentations and come to understand the perspectives of each group and their research related to their assigned planets.
*record the information from each of the group presentations using a mind map (mindmeister).
Authentic Elements:
Authentic Assessment - Teacher will assess how
Multiple perspectives-Through listening to the research and approaches to the assignment questions from each group- allowing them to determine facts.
Articulation-Through presenting their information on a power-point and presenting their research to their entire class.
Reflection-The group presentation itself is a reflection of their team work and research, Using mind maps to record what their fellow classmates found also encourages and reinforces reflection to occur.
Lesson:
Student's will present their group's powerpoint presentation on their assigned planets
Each student are required to use Mind Meister on their device to record key points from the presentation as per the below example:
Mars Presentation Mind Mapping Information Example- Made by Monique Brown
Lesson Plan 8- Reflective Lesson
Authentic Elements:
Authentic Task- Creating their reflective poster of what they have learnt.
Articulation-Explain as a group what they have learnt and through creating their individual posters.
Reflection-Comparing what they thought they knew (lesson 1 poster) and what they have learnt (poster & mind maps).
Lesson:
This lesson is devoted to the student's reflecting on what they have learnt through this unit by both completing their own research and by listing notes from listening to their fellow classmates group presentations on all the planets of the solar system.
To highlight what the students have learnt, Teacher's will instruct student's to yet again make a poster using Canva
Students this time will be create a poster highlighting what they have learnt (with the assistance of their Mind-Maps from previous lesson).
Once students have completed their posters, the remainder of the class with be spent comparing their original posters (what they thought they know, what they wanted to know) with their new posters (what they have learnt).
As an entire class and to end the topic, allow for students to discuss their findings through research and allow for an entire reflection and discussion to be made by the students.
Overview of the Learning Experience
The following lesson plans were designed to cover the "Earth and space sciences" (ACSSU078) science unit of the Australian Curriculum for year 5 students. This unit explores four of the seven general capabilities that the Australian curriculum aims to address during the learning experience, these capabilities include Critical and Creative Thinking, Numeracy, Literacy and Information and Communication Technology. The unit's curriculum content description and elaborations for this learning experience can be further explored on the scootle page.
This learning experience has been designed over a 4 week period, with 2 lessons per week (A total of 8 lesson plans), with each lesson scheduled for approximately a 1- 2 hour time period. During this period of time, students will be introduced to the topic of the "earth and space sciences" and within groups, they will embark on an authentic task to create their own power-point presentations on their group's assigned planet. In this presentation, through research and collaboration the students will address key characteristics about their planet (general features, it's size, the planets distance from Earth and the sun) and also have one slide on their presentation dedicated to the Sun and it's importance to their assigned planet and our planet, Earth! This authentic task, allows students to work independently and within a group to research and understand the planets that make up our solar system and by presenting their knowledge of their research to the entire class through the use of technology, they will make the entire class aware of their planet and the importance of the sun in our solar system!
This learning experience will embrace the use of technologies to support what the students are learning and used a form to display their findings and knowledge throughout the experience. This will include the use of online posters, mind-maps, research and the use of Microsoft Power-point to create their group presentations.Teachers, It is essential for you to have access to the following two resources, in order to complete this lesson plan:
Interactive Whiteboard -In order to visually engage with students and to watch videos (refer lesson 2) with students.
Computers - We would suggest a computer/ipad per student or at least a computer per group to allow for students to be able to complete this lesson plan.
Lesson Plan 1- Introduction- What is our solar system?
Key Questions:
*What is the solar system? What do you already know about our solar system?
*What do you want to learn about the solar system?
Lesson Objectives:
Students Will:
*Expand on what they currently know about the solar system & record what they would like to learn.
*Learn that the Earth is part of a system of planets orbiting around a star (The sun).
Teacher Tips:
Authentic Elements:
Lesson:
Lesson Plan 2- Planets of the Solar System
Key Questions:
*How many planets are in our solar systems and what are they?
*What about Pluto?
*What is the role of the sun and why is it important?
Lesson Objectives:
Students Will:
*Understand that the solar system is made up of 8 planets (Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune)
*Begin to learn characteristics of each planet (Each planets size and distance from the sun varies).
*Understand that the Sun is a star and come to understand it's role in relation to the 8 planets in our solar system
*Understand that all Planets travel around the sun at different orbits.
Authentic Elements:
Lesson:
Planet Song Lyrics
Mercury is the closest planet to the sun
Venus comes next it's the hottest one
Earth comes third the only life that we know
Mars has the largest canyon and volcano
Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune
The gassy planet Jupiter, the largest you will find
Saturn has rings around the outside
Uranus is funny ‘cause it spins on its side
Neptune looks blue, the coldest of its kind
Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune
Okay get ready
We're gonna say all the planets really, really, really fast
Can you keep up?
We're gonna say all the planets from the first to the last
Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune
Mini- Research Activity
Lesson Plan 3- Group Project
Lesson Objectives:
Students Will:
*Understand the group project and what is expected from them for this assignment.
*Be provided with the assignment questions they must address in their group power point presentations in regards to their planet.*Be assigned their group's planet*Be given a list of resources that they can use to assist them with their research
Authentic Elements:
Lesson:
Lesson Plan 4, 5 and 6 - Group Project/Assigned lessons for students to work on assignments.
Authentic Elements:Lesson:
Lesson Plan 7- Group Presentations
Lesson Objectives:
Students Will:
*Present, as a group their group power point- Highlighting their answers from research to the questions outlined in Lesson 3.
*Watch each other's presentations and come to understand the perspectives of each group and their research related to their assigned planets.
*record the information from each of the group presentations using a mind map (mindmeister).
Authentic Elements:
Lesson:
Lesson Plan 8- Reflective Lesson
Authentic Elements:
Lesson:
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